How To Tame A Harpy
by Austwigirl
Summary: Leah gets hurt during patrol. She might be losing her mind. Jacob stops by to lend a hand and maybe ruffle some feathers. Blackwater fluff and friendship. Set around Eclipse-Breaking Dawn 1 time I guess? There are two packs. AU.


**Hi all! Just another random Blackwater One Shot for you since I am yet to finish ONE of these fics I keep stalling on! **

**I own nothing. These characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**How to Tame a Harpy**

"Motherfucker!" Leah hissed through clenched teeth. She was trying to get more comfortable in the bed, but it

Just. Wasn't. Working.

Moving hurt her four broken ribs like a bitch.

Leah was hot and sticky and completely and utterly miserable. Now there was an itch on her ankle that was sending her up the fucking wall. She just needed to _scratch_ it, _damn it!_ She groaned in frustration and tried not to think about it but that was an impossible feat. She tried using the toes from the other foot, but this was one of those itches that needed full-on ten nail action. The mosquito had gotten her good and it was because of her injuries the simple bite was taking longer than usual to heal.

That. Little. Bitch.

Gritting her teeth as she tried not to think about the persistent itching, Leah instead imagined the splat of victory. She was going to GET that fucking mosquito. Even if it killed her.

"God I've finally lost it," Leah muttered to herself as she realized how amped up she was getting over a mosquito she couldn't even hear buzzing around in the room anymore.

A chuckle followed by a quick two knocks on the door alerted Leah to the presence of one of the pack, maybe her little brother.

"Go away!" she spat, hoping that whichever moron it was would listen.

But of course, he didn't. The knob turned slowly and none other than Jacob Black stuck his head in through the narrow space. "Decent?" he asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows as he made a quick wolfish assessment of the room.

Leah rolled her eyes. "Go away, Black. I'm not in the mood for a lecture."

Somehow, the Almighty Alpha took that as an invitation to come in.

Leah growled in warning, her jaw locked as she trembled with outrage. If he took ONE. MORE. STEP! "Didn't you hear me? I said GET OUT!" she shrieked, feeling her wolf writhing to be free. She just wanted to run, she hated being confined to this little room, to this body. In this heat!

Leah was definitely losing it, and losing it fast.

"Geez, Seth wasn't kidding, you _are_ going bat shit crazy cooped up in here, aren't you? It hasn't even been that long!" Jacob, who apparently hadn't been at all ruffled by her tantrum (and really, he shouldn't, being quite experienced in the tantrums of his Beta, after all), came over and gently sat at the edge of her bed. He was so fucking considerate, and now Leah couldn't even yell at him some more for just mindlessly plopping down on the mattress like Seth had the last time he'd dared to step into her domain.

That's when it clicked, Jacob would have seen the whole thing in her brother's head. Leah closed her eyes and exhaled her annoyance. This was so embarrassing. Jacob was about an eighth doofus, and younger; but he was no kid. He was her Alpha and she was his Beta. His opinion of her mattered. Well, sometimes. Rare times. Like now.

"You need to relax, I can smell your wolf as if you were already phased," Jacob cautioned, his face seeming to show both amusement and concern at the same time.

"She wants to run," Leah said flatly, moving her gaze to stare at the faded Beyoncé poster above her bed.

"But she can't - not for another day or two, the most. So you've gotta relax Lee. Stop picking a fight with everyone and indulge yourself in some kind of hobby or whatever."

Leah snorted. "'Hobby or whatever?'" She snorted again. "Like what?_ Do tell_ Oh Mighty Alpha Black?"

She had no idea what she'd even do to kill the time! It had been a year since Leah was a regular young woman who had interests and fun - much less a hobby! Her hobbies had been being with Sam every day or going fishing with her father on Sunday mornings. She had neither man nor option now. Just thinking about it sent Leah to that dark place. The flash of memories burned the back of her eyes, but Leah expertly blinked the pain away. There was no fucking way in hell that she was going to cry about it. Not now.

"I dunno, shit like what you used to do with the twins," Jacob offered. But as he looked around Leah's room, he himself had no idea what she could do without moving around.

"They aren't here, so it wouldn't be the same," Leah said bitterly. It was so fucking obvious now. She had NO ONE in her life that she spent recreational time with. She had OFFICIALLY sunk to the bottom of the barrel.

Jacob smiled to himself as he watched her look at the wall with that tortured expression. The real problem was that Leah was lonely. Even though she tried to keep the packs at bay, and chose to always be off on her own, _clearly_ she missed having girlfriends. Emily had ruined their relationship by being Sam's imprint, the twins were gone…Leah had no one to share herself with.

_"I'm_ here," Jacob replied with a shrug, clasping his hands between his knees as he hunched over, waiting for Leah to turn back to him.

Leah slowly turned her head and stared at him for a moment before bursting out in laughter, which was immediately cut off by a groan as she hurt her ribs. "Fuck Black! Don't make me laugh!" Leah whined.

"Sorry, I had no idea volunteering would be so hilarious," Jacob groused.

"It's preposterous! And I don't need you hanging around here, all in my stuff, getting on my nerves!" Leah huffed as she tried to make herself more comfortable on the bed. But it just hurt more.

Jacob rolled his eyes with a tut. "You really are a stubborn mule, aren't you?" he got up and reached for the pillow behind Leah's head. _Clearly_ she needed his help!

"What are you doing! OW!" she hissed, as her reflex jerk away from his sudden closeness, made her hurt her ribs again.

"Will you just be quiet?!" Jacob snapped back. "I'm helping you, you harpy!"

"Don't call me that!" Leah growled, smacking him on the side.

"Well stop acting like one and just let me HELP YOU!"

They were both huffing and puffing and staring each other down now, until Leah finally cowered and let her Alpha take charge. It wasn't a challenge she could actually win in this state anyways.

Jacob couldn't help but smile at his victory and Leah would have gladly wiped it off his face. Pouting, she folded her arms over her chest, turning her head back to the poster as she waited for him to finish offering his "help."

Jacob shook his head at her antics. He leaned over his Beta again and took out the other pillows and rearranged them against the wall in a special formation. Hunkering down Jacob slid his left arm beneath Leah's armpits and quickly and tenderly pulled her upper body up and back against the pillows.

"Better?" he asked, with a self-satisfied smirk.

Leah found herself instantly relaxing against the pillow support, feeling relief in her aching neck and shoulders. Humbled, she couldn't even respond. Instead she simply nodded.

"Good. I've had plenty practice with Dad, so I'm a bit of an expert on making grumpy patients feel better." Jacob flashed her a smile and a wink when she turned back to him, with eyes so wide and curious… and so fucking beautiful.

Leah's heart skipped a beat at Jacob's admission. She hadn't thought of that before now, the fact that he cared for the Chief daily along with everything else going on with the packs and vampires.

She watched on in wonder as Jacob walked over to the vanity where he picked up her hair brush and an elastic band. He turned to her and waved them in front of him with an impish smile. "If you promise not to bite I'll deal with that bramble bush you've got going on, up on top there," he teased, gesturing to her head.

Leah rolled her eyes dramatically and bit back a smile. "Like I've got a choice," she tossed back as her fingers reached up to determine whether or not he was in fact telling the truth. She found a tiny feather, two leaves and a dead flower. "God, I must look like a nightmare," she muttered to herself.

"You're a mess, but you could never be a nightmare, Lee."

Startled by such a kind sentiment (which they both knew was soooooo not true) Leah found herself looking into Jacob's warm brown eyes. The affection she saw there made her forget to breathe and in order to save face she gestured to her head and told him to get on with it so that she could sleep.

"Yes Ma'am," Jacob chuckled and launched the task of removing all the debris that had gotten caught in Leah's raven hair. It was so thick yet silky and soft, and he found himself slowing his actions rather than running through them. When everything was out, Jacob started with the knots at the base of her shoulder-length locks and slowly worked his way up to her scalp. When the tangles were gone, he rubbed his palms with a dab of Sue's homemade coconut oil and massaged her hair from root to tip, getting rid of all the fuzz while restoring some sheen. Jacob then brushed her tamed mane into one palm and secured it loosely with the elastic.

"There," he stated with another triumphant smile while stepping back to admire his work. "You clean up good, Clearwater," he winked before moving to put her brush back.

Leah was now officially tongue-tied. She'd never expected his grooming to feel so good; to make her body turn to a mass of jelly on the bed. The wolf within was now pacified and silent after her Alpha's ministrations. "How did you know what to do?" she asked, timidly. Jacob hadn't even hurt her once like she'd expected him too.

"Good God Woman!" Jacob burst out in exasperation, causing Leah to flinch (then wince). "Do you _not_ know _anything_ about me _at all_?" he threw his hands up dramatically, and it was so comical that Leah couldn't help but laugh. "Oh! _Now_ you're laughing at me?"

"Stop being so melodramatic! You're making my ribs hurt!" she groaned in between giggles. If his voice got any higher she'd burst through Dr. Fang's stitches on the gash across her stomach.

Jacob pouted. "The least you could do is remember that my hair was longer than yours at some point." He sniffed indignantly, "I know how to braid and _everything."_

Leah couldn't stop herself from smiling as she easily pulled up an old visual of young Black with his flowing hair. All the girls used to rave about how cute he was at school. "Forgive me for not remembering your legendary raven locks, okay Mighty Alpha Chief?" she teased with sass.

"Whatever," Jacob grunted but failed to keep the scowl on his face at the sight of her good mood. She was finally relaxing and that was important for her healing. She'd taken a good beating from a rogue vampire early that morning. "Just remember that I've got skillz okay? These hands know how to DO _shit._ I'm more than this big hunk of wolf-man that you see right here, okay?" He held up his enormous hands and thumped his pecks, putting on his best macho-model-man impression which earned Jacob another giggle.

"You're so silly," Leah mused, but after a couple seconds the smile quickly dropped from her face.

"What's the matter?" Jacob asked, worried that she'd hurt herself again.

Leah shook her head, biting down on her lip. She hated to have heart-to-hearts with people, but Jacob had always been someone Leah could talk to openly. Even though they fought quite often, never once had he made her feel like Sam did, like her feelings didn't matter. And he was always so damn honest, she could trust him. And really, did she have any more pride to lose?

"Just…what you said about the hobby stuff. Sometimes it's like everything pre-wolf is just non-existent in my head…in my life. And I don't even know who I am anymore. If I'm not a wolf, I don't fit in…I don't belong anywhere and no one belongs to me…" Leah gulped a breath to push down the butterflies that fluttered nervously in her stomach at her confession. And she was not about to cry on top of sharing her "deepest, darkness, thoughts." It would only hurt her ribs again, after all.

Jacob grunted and unfolded his arms, sinking to the mattress right next to where she was propped up against her poster of MJ.

"So you miss your old life a lot?" he asked, his voice a bare whisper. They all knew how much Leah loved Sam and how much the imprint had devastated her. They knew how much she and Seth still grieved their father, and blamed themselves for his death. It was a given that she was suffering with a broken heart. Jacob had always felt a sense of camaraderie with her because of it. He knew better than the pack what it felt like to be rejected for a "soul mate" and to lose the parent you were closest to. He knew what it felt like to be "not enough."

Leah's eyes searched his for a few moments before she shook her head and looked away. "I used to, but it hurts too much to look back. It's all gone, Jake. Whether or not we want to accept it, our lives before pack, are dead. The people we were, are dead." Leah swallowed the sting of tears in her throat and cleared it. She hadn't meant to get all emotional about it.

"I guess you're right…" Jacob finally said, moments later. "But the people we are now, are so much better."

"You sound like Quil," Leah snorted.

"I'm not talking about our enhanced bodies, Lee, and you know it. I'm talking about who we are inside. We've all learned to put this tribe above ourselves – each other above ourselves. We've learned what community and family truly mean."

"You've always been like that Jake. You've always had that sense of duty. Not me. I just want what I want. I don't care about anything else."

"I dunno, maybe because I was born into it," he shrugged. "But I watched you give as good as you got from that vampire today. I heard your thoughts, how much you just wanted to keep everyone safe. And I just want you to know that it means a lot to all of us, it means a lot to me. I'm so proud of you Lee."

Leah's heart picked up the pace and she took a deep breath to try to calm herself. She knew he could hear exactly what his words were doing to her.

He was _proud?_

Leah's head was spinning. "I…I just…did my job," she finally managed to say, rather lamely at that. This turn in the conversation had totally caught her off guard.

Jacob reached over and placed his hand over Leah's. She looked down at the contact in shock. The warmth that she felt flow through her, the scent she could smell from his wolf. It was all…so different and…compelling. She just didn't know what was happening.

"I thought I was going to lose you," Jacob said, his hand moving away from her hand to cup the right side of Leah's jaw. "I just couldn't get there fast enough." His voice broke as he stared deeply into her eyes and risked brushing the pad of his thumb against Leah's cheek.

Leah felt something inside of her shift as she processed his words and read the emotions in his eyes. Apparently, she wasn't the only one confessing their deepest and darkest secrets tonight.

Leah finally understood, in that moment, why he was really here.

Jacob had been scared for her life.

"Jake, I was fine," she insisted in a gentle tone, covering the hand on her cheek with her own. "In the end I did it."

Jacob pulled away and entangled their fingers, giving her palm a gentle squeeze as he forced a smile. "I know you were…but if we didn't have Carlisle to patch you up after the wreckage, you could have died."

Leah sighed, knowing she couldn't argue against that. Seth and Sue had already chewed her out about being reckless on the job.

"Leah," Jacob gave a gentle tug on her hand, forcing Leah to keep eye contact. "I know you think no one gives a shit, and I know you feel left out as the only Lupa; but I care okay? About whether you live or die,_ I_ care. Once I'm alive you're _never_ alone and you _always_ have someplace you belong…and that's by my side. Promise me you won't be so reckless with your life next time. Howl for me and I'll be there to have your back."

Leah could only nod. She was floored by his kindness, by the passion she felt in his words. Jacob had never been like this with her before. Ever. And truthfully, though she was touched (and aware that this was his very soft way of reprimanding her for not requesting backup), Leah had no idea how to react. His words felt like they had a double meaning, but she didn't know if she was just reading too much into it.

Jacob read her silence as discomfort. Internally berating himself for coming on too strong, he slapped his knee and stood up to his full six foot seven inches. "Good, so I'll let you guess some rest now, so that you can properly heal. I'll check on you again tomorrow." He threw a quick glance down at Leah, forcing a smile that didn't reach his eyes, then made the three steps to the doorway.

"Okay, thanks," Leah finally managed to say out loud. But as she watched him disappear, she felt a cold shiver run over her spine, followed by a sudden need for her alpha to stay. "Wait! Jake?" she called, the words almost catching in her throat with the sudden panic.

Jacob stilled at the sound and emotion in her voice. His chest felt swollen with anticipation as he popped his head back around the door frame, where his eyes met hers once more. "Yeah?" he asked, (as nonchalant as he possibly could pretend to be).

"I think I have a deck of cards in my desk drawer. I bet I can kick your butt at Go Fish?"

Jacob smiled and stepped back into the room, this time to the pleasure and relief of the woman lying on the bed before him. "Game on, Clearwater. Game on."


End file.
